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French
TORGA
RESEARCH PROJECT
TOWARDS SAFER MOBILITY FOR TWO AND THREE-WHEELERS
Whether it is simply to get around or to travel
along country roads, riding a two or three- wheeler is always synonymous with
driving pleasure.. Thanks to their compact size,
motorcycles and scooters are also an excellent solution to urban traffic and
parking problems. On the other hand, security has always been their weak
point. All too often, the slightest fall or collision with another vehicle
still has tragic consequences.
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The Torga research project aims to improve
the safety of motorcyclists, two or three-wheels
scooters riders and mopeds users through a new approach in this field:
programmed restraint.
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280,000 deaths
per year is the sad toll of road safety for motorized two-wheelers
worldwide in 2018, according to WHO*. The risk of death in an accident is
on average 20 times higher for a user of this type of vehicle than for a
motorist.
In 2017, in France alone, 669
motorcyclists died, 117 moped riders died and thousands
were injured**. Motorized two-wheelers account for 21% of road deaths,
while motorcyclists, to name but a few, account for only 1.5% of traffic.
However, although they represent
only a small part of the vehicle fleet in France, this is not the case
everywhere. In Colombia, for example, they represent 45% of all motor
vehicles in circulation, 60% in China and 80% in India. In these countries
where road deaths are on the rise, two-wheeler users are paying a heavy
price: 3,500 deaths in Colombia, about 70,000 in China and India. Not to
mention the often seriously injured, for whom it is difficult to obtain
precise data, but who probably represent 10 times these figures. Road
safety is a real public health problem at the global level.
*Source : https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2018/en/)
**Source:http://www.securite-routiere.gouv.fr/la-securite-routiere/l-observatoire-national-interministeriel-de-la-securite-routiere/accidentalite-routiere
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The weak points of two-wheelers:
For
primary safety :
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Difficulty braking the vehicle
in an emergency, even with ABS;
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Sensitivity on low grip roads;
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Difficulty in rapidly changing
path in an emergency situation.
For
secondary safety :
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Low level of users's equipment: gloves, boots, jacket with or
without airbag, and sometimes still helmet;
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Exceptional presence of
airbags on the vehicle.
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One thing is certain: the primary (active)
and secondary (passive) safety systems of the motorized two wheelers have
not reached the level of maturity of those of the automobile. In order to maintain the advantages inherent in two and
three-wheel motorcycles while reducing the risks associated with their use,
as well as the physical damage resulting from an impact or a fall, the Torga research project is experimenting with different
ways of improving safety to complete the range of devices currently
available: driver and passenger equipment, airbag on vehicle or integrated
in the jacket. It also aims to improve comfort, in order
to achieve a sustainable mobility and pleasure formula for two and
three-wheelers.
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In a frontal impact, i.e. in 80% of accidents, the ejection speed of
the driver of a two-wheeled vehicle is the same as the initial speed of his
vehicle. Torga proposes to partially couple
driver and passenger to the vehicle, in order to
dissipate part of the kinetic energy and reduce the violence of the impact
suffered by the driver. Explanations.
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Current
situation: without coupling to the chassis
In a frontal impact between a
two-wheeler and an automobile at 50 km/h, the driver of the two-wheeler is
ejected at 50 km/h while his vehicle undergoes a very high deceleration,
resulting in most cases in the ejection of the pilot over a distance of 10
to 15 metres, with fractures and burns, or other
significant injuries, the most serious of which affect the vertebrae, ribs
and pelvis if he meets an obstacle on his road.
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Option 1: coupling to
the chassis
By coupling the driver to his vehicle, for example
by a seat belt, the latter benefits from the energy absorption provided by
the deformation of the front part of the chassis. His speed is therefore
significantly reduced when the rear wheel takes off from the ground.
Calculations show
that, at that precise moment, it is 30 km/h for a small scooter and less
than 10 km/h for a heavy motorcycle (excluding bio-mechanical constraints).
This means a reduction of 20 and more than 40 km/h respectively compared to
the initial speed of 50 km/h. The interest of coupling was demonstrated by
Raphael Murri of the Dynamic Test Center in Vauffelin, Switzerland.
(http://www.dtc-ag.ch/downloads/publicat/sicherheitsgurt_motorrad_ifz08.pdf)
Limit of the
solution: risk of the driver being crushed by his vehicle if the rear wheel
takes off too abruptly, as shown opposite.
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Option 2: the
programmed restraint proposed by Torga
To avoid any risk of the driver being crushed by his
own vehicle, he must be disconnected from it at some point. That's why Torga offers a programmed restraint system that can
disconnect the seat belt, or any other coupling device used, when
necessary.
This is particularly the case when the impact is
severe enough for the rear wheel to lift off the ground. The driver is then
ejected at reduced speed, after having benefited from the energy absorption
resulting from the deformation of the front part of the vehicle, thus
mitigating the consequences of the fall.
In a
dual situation, the passenger, held by the driver's back, benefits from
energy dissipation and is also ejected at reduced speed.
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The coupling means proposed here according to our
programmed restraint concept takes the form of a tank luggage holder. It is connected to the chassis by a seat
belt at the rear and a joint at the front, thus ensuring partial coupling
of the driver to the vehicle in the event of a frontal impact. Compared to
a conventional seat belt, this device is more user-friendly and does not
require any manipulation by the driver while sitting on the vehicle.
During
the first phase of the impact, the driver's chest is projected forward and
quickly comes into contact with the reception
area, in blue on the picture opposite. The front part of the vehicle
deforms and absorbs part of the kinetic energy, which varies according to
the initial speed and strength of the chassis. This absorption results in a
reduction in the speed of the driver and passenger.
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If the impact is weak
enough that the rear of the vehicle does not lift, the driver's coupling is
maintained and therefore the driver is not released.
Otherwise, decoupling
is necessary to avoid the risk of the rider being crushed by his
motorcycle. The luggage holder is uncoupled from the side of its rear
attachment to the frame by releasing the seat belt. Under the effect of
inertial forces, the support rotates around the articulation axis located
at its front part, thus releasing the conductor, who is then
"ejected", with a much lower speed than would have been his
without this device.
The uncoupling of the
support is ensured by a disconnectable fixing
managed electronically, acting on the belt buckle. The technologies used
are similar to those used to activate airbag
vests.
Manual action on the belt peduncle located in the
front part of the saddle allows the assembly to tilt forward to give access
to the fuel hatch.
For obvious reasons, the driver is not coupled to
the vehicle in other crash configurations or in the event of a fall.
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Improving
motorcyclists' safety is an objective of the Torga
project. Reducing the number of accidents involving scooter and other moped
users is another, much more important given the tens of millions of such
vehicles on the planet's roads.
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The Torga research project aims to improve the safety of
two-wheelers. It proposes to provide technical solutions to this problem
while improving comfort. After an initial modeling phase to explore the
ergonomics of the proposed solutions, scientific work will determine their
potential to reduce the consequences of accidents before proceeding to
validation. The SIREMS
non-profit association was created in order to gather the necessary means
to progress this public health project.
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Association SIREMS : SIREN 845 364 041
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Contact :
pginnov@club-internet.fr
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